


in vino veritas

by crooked



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-29
Updated: 2010-08-29
Packaged: 2017-10-11 07:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/110139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crooked/pseuds/crooked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius never listens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in vino veritas

**Author's Note:**

> [original post](http://crooked.livejournal.com/240803.html) @ livejournal.

Sirius never listens. Remus says slow down; he speeds up. Remus says go left; Sirius goes right. Being his mate is a contest of wills, sensibility grappling with recklessness. (Three guesses who usually wins.)

So it really should come as no surprise to Remus when Sirius refuses to pass him the bottle of cheap merlot they were meant to be sharing, a smirk on his wine-stained lips as he petulantly shakes his head. Remus insists; Sirius simply laughs and says _no_.

They're somewhere in the middle of Manchester, backs pressed against the cool brick wall of an abandoned textile mill. It's 1978 and industry is in such an abysmal decline in the city that no-one pays any mind to two blokes openly drinking wine under the stars; it's almost par for the course around these parts lately.

Well, one bloke drinking wine anyway. Remus reaches for the bottle again, scowling as Sirius is too swift and yanks it out of reach. He's the one who nicked it from the house they'd been sent to search, Remus argues, but Sirius just grins and wags a finger at him. _You are a naughty boy, Remus John_, he slurs, laughing and tipping his head back.

The night is moonless so everything is cast in shadows, but as Remus watches him laugh, Sirius seems to glow for no real reason. He's the brightest thing for kilometres, living up to his celestial namesake, shining in the dim, dreary cityscape around him. The sudden realisation of Sirius' otherworldly beauty isn't as sudden as it seems; Remus has been watching him for years now, growing from a lanky boy into the epitome of smooth. He gets these flashes every now and again, against all rational thought, but he just pushes them back down and carries on as normal. A queer werewolf operating as a revolutionary for the cause has a complicated enough life as it is. Getting romantically tangled with one of his best mates? Recipe for disaster.

Remus sighs and shakes his head at himself because he knows how pointless it is to travel down this road. Sirius has never shown any real interest; he hangs on Remus just as much as he hangs on Peter and James. So if his hand occasionally seems to linger on Remus' knee or his thumb brushes the back of Remus' neck in a way that sends shivers down his spine… well, it's just his imagination.

The sudden shift of the boy beside him pulls Remus back into the present. Sirius is close, his knee pressed into Remus' thigh and their shoulders touching. Remus tells himself it's no different from the way he practically sits in James' lap when they're drunk together, but that doesn't stop his heart from racing a bit.

_Fancy a taste, Moony?_ Sirius asks and even though he's tilted the bottle toward Remus, he's not entirely sure Sirius is talking about the wine.

Either way, he doesn't wait for clarification. Remus murmurs a soft _for a fucking long time, yeah_ as he leans in, lips brushing Sirius' hesitantly at first. He's waiting for the recoil that never comes. Sirius kisses him like he too has been counting down the minutes to the moment, all soft sighs and eager lips. Remus hears the soft chink the bottle makes as it hits the ground, the dark liquid spilling into the gutter, and Sirius' hands slip up his back a second later. Remus moans and threads a hand into Sirius' hair, fingers cradling the base of his skull, pulling him in closer.

It's over too soon for Remus, their tongues barely gliding together as Sirius pulls back. He's breathless and grinning as he gets to his feet, stumbling slightly, raking his fingers through his hair. Remus looks up at him, licking his lips and tasting merlot and Sirius.

_C'mon_, Remus says as he gets to his feet, _let's head back to London._

Sirius nods and just falls into step beside him as they walk to a less conspicuous place for apparition. Remus feels his eyes on him, but he doesn't glance over at Sirius. If he does, they'll just end up backed up against another building, and Remus needs to know it's not just the wine that brought them to that kiss. Still, the way Sirius keeps stealing glances at him makes Remus' stomach tighten.

_Stop looking at me, Padfoot_, he mutters as he pushes his hands into his pockets, ducking his head to hide the hint of a grin curving his lips. It's the first time Remus actually hopes Sirius continues his pattern of utter disregard for every order Remus has ever given him.

(He does.)


End file.
